Hell Zone: The Dating Game
by AriesDanger24
Summary: Gamer AU (not super detailed so don't worry about gamer lingo) John, a doctor, is forced to play a game called "Hell Zone" by Mary, a nurse who is his coworker. John meets his team mates, one of which catches his interest and as coincidence may have it, they meet in real life. John's boring life is about to get interesting. Yaoi Warning (Johnlock)
1. 1 Game ON!

**Aryes: All right guys! I love this pairing, because this be my OTP! I love Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman so much! This is an AU and i don't have much to go on, so I would love to hear any ideas you have for me :)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Sherlock, if I did Johnlock would be cannon along with Mystrade.**

 **Warning: This will be a yaoi fanfiction (Male x Male) Don't like, don't read. This chapter also has a mention of John in an abusive family so be warned and of course it has game violence.**

 **Enjoy.**

Chapter 1: The Insignia of A Mad Man

"Mary, I won't be any good-"

"Yes you will! You will love this game! I know how good you are at first person shooting games and it's on live speak so you don't have to be distracted by comments at the bottom."

A sigh escaped the young blonde doctor as his friend, a fellow nurse of the clinic named Mary, forced him over to the desk next to hers. Both had a pair of headsets and a loading screen that welcomed them to a game called "Hell Zone", and John could safely assume that this game was going to be a mix between Halo (which he played only a little of) and Mortal Combat (Which he played a great deal of as a child) regardless, he had a feeling he would make a fool of himself. Not just in front of Mary, but in front of more gamers on live speak, great.

"Alright John, time to plug in and get your battle gear on!" She said with a serious face as she practically jumped into the twisting office chair and signed into the game. It was at this point that he knew he couldn't win against Mary, no one ever could when she turned and gave him the look. The look consisted of a dark glare, but not a glare at all. It was like a mindless gaze that compelled you to submit and John was very knowledgeable in what that look meant for people after wards. She would ignore the person for week, even months until they submitted. She was definitely one tough cookie.

"Alright, but I warn you I will suck-"

"That's the spirit DoctorJW!" Mary said with a playful grin, she had just used his new username he had made. She had said it was too simple, but John Watson was indeed a simple man so it suited him just fine in his opinion. He pointed out that her username was also not very creative considering it was a play on words, but she dismissed it with, "Men think girls who have jokes in their usernames are funny!" John had left the topic and so did she considering they were neither very creative in much of anything.

"DoctorJW is too long, I think I will just call you Doc or Doctor." Mary commented and John pursed his lips in a sulk.

"Fine," he commented and soon he clicked into the same programming as Mary except he got to have a different character. He choose a normal looking guy that had broad shoulders and he watched as the man was suited up in a variation of steel gray and blue, but John disliked the color and the armor, but he felt a chill run up his spine as the screen said, "Loading local players". In truth that could just mean all around the UK so he never trusted it. The blonde man watched as a player's name popped up next to his, it was Little Lamb.

"Okay John, this is how the game works," She said, her swivel chair turning to look at the real him.

"These two buttons are the ones needed to aim and shoot. Blue to aim, red to shoot, and these other two are for defense, Yellow to shield and green to crouch behind something. Okay?" She asked and John tested the button placement with his fingers and nodded to himself and to affirm her that yes he understood.

"Your goals are simple, you want to kill as many red tagged people as possible while collecting the flag. If you have teams your mission is to solely locate the flag and grab it. Once you grab it the game is done, the button to grab it is blue, got it?" Mary said and John nodded his head but a slick smooth voice pooled into their headsets.

"Looks like bait here has a new friend, how lovely." the voice commented and both swiveled t see the screen but by Mary's face he could guess that she knew the male voice that had spoken.

"Chesire, what an unpleasant surprise, shouldn't you be at home torturing some children or something?" John's head whipped over to look at Mary as she bit out the words like they were poison, her face a darkened look. Then he looked over at the username CheshireCat, he hovered his mouse over the name and profile stats flew on a box that had the words, London, 27, Male. Along with a level of around 42, which was about the same as Mary's level.

"My, my, the lamb's got a bit of bite today~but we are on the same team so buck it up sweetie!" John cringed a little as Cheshire's voice emphasized the last part of the sentence with a yell. Then, the male changed his tactics and chit chatted in a quieter tone.

"Well look who joined our little party and filled it with 5." Cheshire purred and a woman's voice replied as John looked at the small board on the right. 2 usernames popped up onto the screen, Addalert and SH221.

"Ah, the devil's here," said the woman monotonely as she continued, a smirk evident from her tone, "Speak of the devil and he shall appear." she quoted and John could hear the sound smile as the man answered, it seemed to the blonde that this was something these three did often, bantering at least.

"You flatter me Adda," he said with a smug sounding tone and somehow it pissed John off, but then the man spoke again, now directly at him.

"Hello Doctor, are you there?" asked Chesire and he replied quickly.

"Yes."

"Good, you play games much? Are you even good at anything?" Asked the smug man and there was a pause from the blonde male as he spoke a moment later.

"Hopefully I am, This is my first time playing this so I hope in beginner's luck." John said with a smile and he could see Mary smiling at his comment.

"Well, aren't you confident?" Addalert said along with a snide comment from Cheshire.

"10 badges says he gets less than ten kills. Anyone want in on it?"

"Sure, I'll bite. I bet he gets around the 20's." Says Addalert.

"Well, I bet he get in the 30's!" Mary exclaimed and John felt himself heat up.

"Mary, I told you I don't know if I will do any good at this at all!" John said nervously, but Mary just smiled.

"It will be alright, what are you worried about? Just have fun! I don't care how many kills you get as long as you like to play!" John felt his shoulders ease up, but then he glanced down at the corner and tensed up. A box had just appeared with a comment, the comment was from SH221.

SH221: 90-100, maybe more.

John stared at the comment and Mary did too, then Addalert spoke up.

"90-100 soldiers! He's a newbie, there's no way he could kill that many. You know what, forget I asked. ", but as soon as she said it a comment appeared below the last one.

SH221: You already did, and yes he will.

"How do you know that? I have never played this game at all." John asked, but received no more fun replies from the man.

"Looks like Shelly's done talking for today. I am surprised Shelly posted 2 comments today." Cheshire said, but mindlessly John scrolled his mouse over SH221 and saw the following plus more.

London, 25, Male

'So he's 3 years younger than me?' thought John, his neck turning from the thought process and he tried to relieve a kink in his neck. His shoulders get tense as the screen says, "Players ready".

"John, get ready and stay close! Remember the controls and aim to kill all players that appear red on the screen," Mary said with a smile and John nodded, momentarily mind playing with the new controls.

"Alright, let's have some fun!" Cheshire said with a grumbled growl near the end.

"Seems it's the city setting, this is pretty complex for you Doctor, I would understand if you got...hmm say, 20+ kills." Her voice hopeful and chipper, but then everyone was quiet as they looked around the new area. No map created yet, but while they scouted the safe area with their characters, the doctor checked out his controls and after a minute he realized they were simple. He started to move around and test his controls while moving. He heard his other team mates talking amongst themselves on the feed except for SH221 of course. He seemed rather reserved and his character stayed at the start with John, but it stood still.

'Maybe he had to leave in the middle of the game or something', thought John so he dismissed it and looked in all the directions. It seemed Mary went right so he chose a different direction and instantly he encountered enemies. More than just four at a time, and John really got to test out his controls. He seemed to get used to working with them rather fast and understood them quite reflexively.

It seemed like forever, and he heard his team mates on the speaker shouting to each other on live speak until he heard his name.

"Hey John, where are you? I told you to stay close!" Mary said over the microphone, not even bothering to turn her head.

"I'm-" John cut off as he was hit by an enemy with a sturdy rifle, and unluckily he was in plain sight. Quickly, he made his character race to safety behind a wall of a brick building. He quickly switched his gun setting to explosion which meant instead of bullets it would throw a bloody grenade. He aimed and shot accurately, the target blew up by a long shot, and also included more people as well. He ran towards the building stairs and went to what was left of the roof to survey the damage.

There were at least twenty red guys dead, and John, who was frequently ambushed by the red team, shot them all dead. He briefly heard the sound of achievements being unlocked along with a quick entourage of trophies, medals and awards flashing by, but John ignored them as he kept shooting in rapid fire, returning fire and explosions. It was almost like a Micheal Bay movie, all you were missing was a woman, but lucky for John she was right next to him screaming at Addalert and Cheshire for not having her back.

John's gun eventually ran out of bullets and he changed to knife attacks in buildings, but then he saw it from a window building, the red flag. It was waving from a window sill on the building across from his, inciting a goal for John to finish. The doctor's character ran down the building and up the other, preparing himself for a boss battle with the flag guards, but as he turned the corner he stilled his movements. There were bodies around the flag along with one standing body who's name showed as blue.

SH221 Level 221

John sort of laughed into the microphone and he programmed his character to lower the knife as he smiled. At the bottom of the screen a small comment appeared in blue from SH221.

SH221: :) - SH

The blonde stared at the screen confused as to why SH221 put a smiley face. Then , he heard a groan from beside him as Mary sat back in her desk chair.

"Dammit, he already found it." Mary groaned with a sigh.

"Well, he always does, plus I was getting a little bored of killing the CPU's." Addalert purred slightly.

"What do you mean?" asked John into the speaker piece and he heard an audible groan from Cheshire as Mary explained.

"You see, that message means that-," the screen changed as SH221 grabbed the red flag, the screen said, 'WINNERS: BLUE', "-SH221 found the flag, most games practically last around 30 minutes, but if SH221 is here it lasts at least half that time." John looked over at Mary, who was staring at her screen expressionless, then the blonde man turned back at his screen. The screen now showing the winner of the kill count which so happened to be John.

DoctorJW: 143 killsNew Record!

"Well looks like he was right," Addalert said surly and a comment popped up on the screen beneath the last comment.

SH221: Of course I am.

It was smug sounding and it should have made John angry somehow, but it didn't. It made him confused and curious all at the same time. He saw everyone start logging off until it was only SH221 and him in the chat room. He watched as Mary left for the bathroom and the he turned back to the screen.

"How did you know I would get over 90 kills?" the blonde doctor asked into the microphone andhe waited a few moments, hoping that he would get an answer that would satisfy his curiousity, but after 2 minutes, John decided the man wouldn't write an answer back.

"Was it a guess?" John asked hesitantly, unsure if the man was even online at all, but he was proven wrong.

SH221: No, it was simple.

John heard his own gears clinking away for two moments, waiting for an explanation to why it was supposedly so simple. Then, SH221 posted another comment, and John was shocked by its length.

SH221: I could hear the way your voice shook, and by the fact that Little Lamb left you for so long without saying a word. She is confident in you, so that means you are at least capable so I shot far in my estimate considering how unconfident she is in anyone else in the game. That also means you are her friend I presume? I am also right in assuming that you are in her flat right now, but now she is probably gone to the restroom like she usually does after a game right?

John was astounded at the astute reply and now he could see how that could be clear almost instantly he breathed out the first words that came to his mind. It was so clear to him now and some part of him was astounded at the hypothesis the man had. They were right on the money.

"That was absolutely brilliant. It seems so simple with the way you say it! That's amazing! How did you hypothesize that?" John asked almost breathless, but his curiosity made his voice come out more eager. He waited a few moments and the reply to his question came quickly.

SH221: I did not hypothesize anything, they are facts. They are not hypothesis, but more of a supported fact or statement. They are called deductions DoctorJW.

"Deductions," John repeated slowly, the word striking an odd harmonic chord with him as he looked over at the clock. It was getting late, but the word was keeping him there. It was such a special word, it was as though a connection had been formed between them with the word. It was holding him to his seat, and begging him to implore more.

"Deductions, it sounds like an interesting thing to do. It is probably pretty useful isn't it? Can you do something like that with people you meet for the first time too?" the doctor asked, and he waited for a response for a minute.

SH221: Yes, only it is usually more detailed, but people usually don't appreciate it, and usually show it in more verbal and physical responses.

"Like what?" John asked, his mind racing instantly to bad beatings and bloody eyes, oh yes, an abusive home never really gave him a good perspective of people, but he was kind all the same. He had also been in the army and once you were in the army it was hard to forget what people are capable of.

SH221: Usually the term 'fuck off' comes into the conversation along with a glare, but rarely does it turn more violent than that.

"I can see that." John replied monotonely and another message popped up below that.

SH221: Can you now?

"Well yes, not everyone likes their secrets to be spilled. I don't mind really but-" John cut off as he thought of his father and mother, the army, and Harry, his sister.

"-people are not always good." he finished lamely, but another message appeared.

SH221: That is putting it too lightly in my opinion. They are also boring, obnoxious, rude, moronic imbeciles that should not be allowed to mingle and lower the IQ of the rest of the world.

John laughed a little into his microphone as he felt he couldn't agree more.

"Yes, I believe that as well, but there are good people in this world too." John said and after that SH221 did not answer after that. It was sad, but a blessing considering if he had still been conversing with SH221 he would have not peeled himself away for work.

"So do you like the game?" asked Mary as she sat with him at lunch, and John thoughts ran to last night and a certain feeling of fun came from it.

"Yeah" John answered as he bit into his sandwich hungrily and the blonde woman winked as she asked the next part.

"Wanna come play with us again next week?" she asked as she pushed his tea cup over to him, John looking evenly at her. He shrugged though, because he really didn't do anything else in his spare time except read anyway or watch his favorite series on Wednesday.

"Of course I will, I would be glad to." and the blonde doctor was indeed interested in playing again, because they all were very interesting people. Plus, it did get some of his anger out while killing all the CPU's. What did he have to lose?

 **Aryes: So guys, how did I do? This is my first time writing a fanfiction in such a weird format so I hope it didn't show.**

 **Also I need ideas for this if you want it to continue! I literally did this on a whim and now i need more ideas for how the story should go! If you post the idea I will put your name down if I use it! Check out my other stories if you want! :) Thank you for reading!**

 **~Aryes**


	2. 2 Faction!

**Aryes: Hey guys, I hope you enjoy this new chapter I was able to make! I am super tired and hoping that guys enjoy this even though I didn't spell check this at all! XD No work but still so freaking tired! Yay Johnlock! WOOT! On with the story!**

Chapter 2: A Truth Worse Than Death

There it was again, the sounds of fear echoing softly in John Watson's head, their screams so small compared to the anxiety that mounted in him. He knew this dream, this accursed nightmare that toyed with the past, it played with his emotions and threatened to draw him into madness. Insanity was the proper word wasn't it? Probably. John tried but was unable to think as the nightmare played him like a lifeless puppet again. It drew him closer towards the sound, the darkness around him increasing his awareness of the screams ten fold. It made the sounds much more distinguishable and anguished, the sounds of gun fire also played like an overture to the melody of screams, both playing off the other.

The blonde felt his heart race unparalleled in his ears, a pounding sound, blood, screams, gunshots, explosions, cries of agony wailing like a siren over the sea, the memories were piling on him. The doctor tried to run back towards the way he came, but he was unable to move, a voice, a familiar male voice speaking to him, "You can't run away John." The blonde turned to see his best friend from the army, the one who had been shot straight in front of John's eyes, and then proceeded to die on John's surgery table, and the one who stood between him the way he had been taken to. He had a bandage right over his heart and his face looked the same but there was no light in his eyes as he spoke like a monotone zombie, "You never ran back in the old days and now, you can't escape it. It is your own fault so come and make it right. Let's go back to the army John, my chest's all healed! We can go back and fight again."

"No," John said firmly, this dream he had had a thousand times over, and it always hurt more to go back. Past his old friend was another old friend, a friend John called Insanity. It was better to refuse, the past must stay where it belongs. "Really John! I thought you'd know better by now," the other man said, and the short man gave a sad look as he thought out the next part of this little play. 'Next he will try to tempt me with my memories, then switch to guilt, then anger, then he would slowly be matted with blood falling from the sky and fall, drowning deep into it. I will stay standing and be soaked with the blood of all I have killed and then I will return,' John recited.

Suddenly, the friend in front of him changed demeanor and started laughing, "Come on John, don't you remember when we would hit up bars on the way over to our next mission? Huh, remember that girl you used to like? What was her name? M-...M-...Wait no it was...T-Tiffany!? That was it, she was a blondie with a bit of a docile look to her! Let's go meet her again! She was just swell wasn't she?" The doctor refused to answer, but that didn't help the small rise the question gave to him. He needed to be silent or defiant, either way Tiffany had been dead for a few months. The hardest part was that John still felt the pain every time in the dreams. Then, there was a swift change in the man again, "Come on John, you at least owe me that much. Come on with me...please?" John's eyes narrowed in a painful look, and with every ounce of his pride, john turned his head away from the pleading eyes of his friend.

"Awww, come on! We are brothers...We gave our word to each other and you broke it! You can't protect anyone but yourself! John! JOHN! You couldn't even save me with all your fancy training! What use are you if you couldn't save me from dying! What are you without that fancy white coat? A murderer perhaps? Maybe a masochist with a death wish...more likely. You are a soldier John, your doctor skills won-" His best friend paused and looked at the sky with a blank look. John paused and really looked a his best friend, this didn't happen for any other dream. Usually he would finish his monologue than just walk in the rain till he started to drown.

"My time is up John, I tried to warn you." the whisper was soft from his friend's lips as a rain drop touched his chest, the spot started to bloom red like a flower. In an instant he fell to ground and the blonde jumped backwards in fear and confusion. The doctor looked up to the sky in utter bewilderment as a drop of blood touched his cheek and the rain started to cascade down, but he looked back over at his friend in still shock. Why was this dream different? Warn him about what? Then he heard it, a single shot being fired at his leg, along with the irreplaceable feeling of pure agony. The feeling was so sudden that John was unable to utter a sound as his eyes flipped open to see his own room , his breaths labored from sheer fear and pain.

Gently, John reached for his leg, the pain still there, but fading quickly as his breathing returned to normal. He had different dreams when he had left the army, many strange, but none reoccurred more than this particular one, yet it changed this time. The other nightmares were more graphic and caused him physical pain while this dream usually only caused him mental pain. Today was obviously a little different and John could not figure out why. Gently, he pushed down the wave of mental images that were causing him nausea, most of which pertained to the shot he had taken in his sleep. The blonde clutched his heart softly, and felt a painful amount of tears well, but none would come out to greet the welcomed sounds of pain John wished to release.

Even now, he was unable to cry from the past, because he had lost his will to try crying, it would do no good. This mental pain of being unwanted was cured by friends in the army who truly needed him, now he was unspecial, unneeded, and worst of all unwanted. That thought would keep John up all night, and into the next morning where he would get on his coat and go to work with Mary and his associates. Then, he would come back home to an empty house and sit there doing nothing, what a boring life he led.

"Sherlock! You haven't paid the rent in 2 months deary!" The older woman said as she opened the door to her upstairs tenant, Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes, was a famous and somewhat infamous private detective of sorts, a wonderful lad she had come to love. The things about him that made her angry though was quite a few when it came to Sherlock. He had no boundaries when it came to living in an apartment and it was almost becoming hazardous to live in the same building as him. Surprisingly, when she entered the room Sherlock was not experimenting on something or shooting at the wall with a pistol. The tall dark man was staring into a computer screen with headphones on and a perplexed look on his face as he studied the screen.

Mrs. Hudson was a bit shocked to say the least, usually the man never stopped reading the paper or leaving to solve some case, but here he was playing a game that he had bought over a month ago. With a soft smile, the landlord excused herself, vowing to come at a different time when Sherlock wasn't busy. With a small motion, she shut the door with ease and calmed as she heard it click lightly against the wood. After that, the white haired woman went down to make herself a batch of tea, knowing with Sherlock that it may be a while before she got to talk to him again.

The dark haired male turned slightly in his seat to quickly glance at the door, then returned his gaze back to the game Hell Gate. Sherlock was unable to answer how many days he had played the game at evening, but it had been six days and today was the 7th day. He was looking for a certain person who played at evening with him last Wednesday. He had only met the person 14.35 minutes, but he had been intrigued by the one whom had found him at the flag. DoctorJW, the name was very simple and it led the dark haired male to believe that the man was a doctor with the initials JW. There had been a few more facts he had pieced together as well since then just from remembrance, the man was probably older, but not by much if Little Lamb invited him over to her house to play a game.

Most likely, Sherlock had worked out by seeing the kill count that JW had actually been in the army at some point, and through the words they had traded, the dark haired man could give the new man many traits. Kind, hospitable, curious, strange but predictable, more than average in brains, positive thinker, and peaceful, these were traits that transferred through their talks and actions. Sherlock pressed the button new game and felt an appealing amount of logical data supporting his new hypothesis, that he would be in this game. Addalert, CheshireCat, LittleLamb, and ah yes, DoctorJW, they all popped onto the screen at once.

"A little late to the party SH221? Isn't that a bit rude?" Asked Cheshire in his snarky voice and Sherlock quickly typed a witty reply before anyone else could speak.

SH221: Asking a guest if he is late is a bit more rude than arriving late.

"Well, hello Doctor, you're back again too? Interesting~" Cheshire said, completely ignoring Sherlock's remark with a simple change of subject, but he didn't care so much as he heard the voice over the headphones, the voice he had almost forgotten due to their brief meeting.

"Yeah, Good to play with you all again." the voice said, the tone of it was grateful with no underlying tones to ruin the feeling it gave anyone. It intrigued Sherlock, dare he say, the man himself interested Sherlock. For once the tall man actually was curious about someone who wasn't related to a case he was working on.

"Yes, nice of you to join us again doctor. Don't worry we won't bet on you again. I lost too many chips guessing last time so I won't make that mistake again." Addalert said over the live feed and Sherlock turned his mind over to the fact that his chip count was indeed a lot higher than last time.

The game then started once more, the field was a new battleground that was a special, it was called Spring Meadow of Graves. The whole place surrounded in tombstones and mausoleums, the battle music was eerie and Addalert gave a small shivering sound into the mic followed by LittleLamb's usual whine of scary battlegrounds, "I really hate this place." The curly haired male gave a smirk as he made his character do 360 view of the new playing field. It seemed like endless tombstones and for once Sherlock felt excitement at the challenge, he promised himself to find the flag in less 20 minutes.

Once again they were the blue team and suddenly shooting out at the start toward a single direction was DoctorJW. It was a straight run the avatar took through a path of tombstones and the Doctor disappeared into the fake purple fog.

"Doctor! Don't leave me alone! You know I can't handle ghosts!" LittleLamb shouted into her ear piece making everyone cringe at the shrill frequency.

"Easy Lamb chop! Ease up on you screeching! I have work tomorrow thank you very much!" Cheshire snapped and Sherlock sighed and started to follow in the direction his team mate ran towards considering it was one of two paths that were actually real. Carefully, Sherlock pressed forward through the fog and looked for the other man. So far, there had been no enemy advances so Sherlock could only guess they were staying still at their own start or they were waiting to ambush.

Quickly, Sherlock glanced at the map in the corner of the screen, the one no one ever had time for, and saw a blue dot in front of him. It wasn't far ahead of him judging from the distance, he could easily catch up if the Doctor stopped, but then he heard the man's voice over the live feed, completely shining through the others whining comments.

"Ambush where I am! They are following the path I did so get yourselves into positions for offense!"The man's voice calm and collected, leaving Sherlock to believe the man had actually knew where the ambush would be happening, but the dark haired male knew it had probably been a guess. A good guess albeit, but still a guess nonetheless. Sherlock quickly moved his character to crouch behind a tombstone nearby and set his gun to range shot. The shot setting was commonly used for fasr off targets, but Sherlock preferred it close range for its precision.

As soon as the red target names appeared Sherlock had killed 7 players, the others running forward or backwards. The black haired man chose to advance, his character moving near the path but not on it for fear of being ambushed himself. He heard shots being fired up ahead then silence as he saw the blue screen name: DoctorJW, appear. Behind him though was an enemy aiming for a kill shot, but in a swift motion Sherlock's character slashed the character with the default knife all characters had when they ran out of ammo. The new player was instantly defeated and Sherlock watched his teammates avatar turn and the man made a shocked sound.

"Wow, that-he...I would have...-thanks!" The Doctor eventually got out and Sherlock felt a small smirk grow unexpectedly on his face. He really wished to comment back but he did not wish to have a conversation with everyone else, they would all notice a new voice added in for sure. He itched to write a comment, but during battle it was not easy to do and was ineffective, plus it left Sherlock vulnerable. The dark haired male looked around the new part of the battlefield and saw a large haunted figure in the distance.

Instantly, the character SH221 ran towards the subject of attention with full force. Sherlock could tell instantly that it was the base, especially since they had been ambushed in front of it. Swiftly, Sherlock looked down at the map to see a blue dot following him. 'So the Doctor figured it out?' mused the tall male in his desk chair as he heard the Doctor's higher pitched voice speak, "Oh dear! Do we have to go in there? It looks like it's real! The graphics on this game are fantastic!"

The black haired male snorted at the comment quietly but turned his character in the game back to the Doctor and with a small tap of his keyboard his character motioned for the other man to lead them inside. At first the other man didn't understand but soon enough the man ran in first, Sherlock hoping the man was at least smart enough to have figured that part out by himself. The man ran into the building, but as they entered the map showed 5 more red dots appearing in the house. Sherlock lightly tsked the fact that he had failed to remember that in the game when you kill all 5 team members they are reborn at their starting point! 'Right where we are standing most likely,' the curly haired male thought as he looked at the map, their teammates too far away to do anything of use!

"Alright I'll get the ground floor, you go up stairs and search for the flag, I'll take care of them," the Doctor said, his voice resolute and the genius wasted no time in bounding up the animated staircase in search of the flag, because currently, DoctorJW could only hold off the offenders for so long till he died. The last time, the Doctor had had the element of surprise and his opponent's underestimation, but this time the Doctor was outnumbered and taken very seriously. With a strange sense of chaos in him, Sherlock hurried his character to find the other team's flag. The first floor was empty of the flag so the flag had to be on the last floor, well, unless they had a basement, but that would be rather problematic for him to get to.

Quickly, the avatar ran up the stairs with a strange urgency as he heard the other players arrive onto the scene of action at the bottom floor. He heard comments of the Doctor being heavily injured and surrounded, and it was like a push forward for Sherlock. He knew no real harm could be done to the man, but being killed in the game did lower the rank of the player. That was something the black haired man didn't like since the man had indeed helped him earlier, plus he didn't like being indebted to someone else if he could do something as trivial as finding a flag.

Suddenly, the armored character was swerved to the right into a large room with an animated piano and there by an open window stood a red flag with the game's symbol. Sherlock smirked as he grabbed the flag in the game and put his trademark symbol to go with it. To symbolize that their futile efforts were now unneeded.

SH221: :) -SH

"Well, guess the game's over," LittleLamb said over the live speak and a groan came out of one of the other players, most likely in was Cheshire.

"We didn't even get any kill points, seems that SH and the Doctor won in terms of points this evening, what a shame. I wanted to raise my rank today too~" said Addalert with a dismal tone at the end, almost a bit whiny. 'Seems like she's been drinking this whole time because a date went wrong yesterday, seems it was probably due to another woman grabbing her date's attention with some type of higher achievement. It was probably a more physical achievement than a mental one.' the black haired man deduced silently as the game screen went to the score sheet and quickly he typed out a message.

SH221: Addalert, drinking that much because your date left you is highly unhealthy. I recommend stopping after this 5th shot of vodka or else you will be drunk enough to get a hangover that will surely leave you regretting the decision to drink past the 5th glass.

"Ooh~ Addalert, why are you drinking? Someone break up with you? Want some company? You know the saying misery loves compan-" Cheshire said with a laugh but the woman cut him off with a simple, "Shut up you stupid...perverted cat!"Addalert had stopped in the middle of the sentence to think and said the rest of the sentence with pitiful triumph.

"I am so done...with this game today." Addalert's name disappeared from the live speak list along with LittleLamb.

"Awww~ The girl's don't want to talk, well that's a shame." Cheshire said and it was about then that Sherlock noticed that DoctorJW name was still there as Cheshire vanished from the bored as well, leaving the two of them.

SH221: Doctor, that was quite interesting back there. You are an army veteran, correct?

There was a silence that came after posting that comment, then the man spoke for what to Sherlock seemed an eternity. "Yes, how did you know that?" the disbelief was evident in the man's tenor voice that made Sherlock smirk with mild triumph and then he gave a look of 'I can't believe you asked me that'. Then again, the man did not know who on earth he really was, so Sherlock toned the face down a little as he wrote back a reply.

SH221: Simple, the orders you gave earlier suggested that you have had prior experience in directing others in an orderly manner. Add on to that with the fact you said ground level when most of the world calls it the 1st floor.

"Wow, I can't believe I forgot about that! Everyone else says 1st floor," there was exasperation in the man's voice as he heard a slapping sound in the background, probably the man smacking his forehead from his own mistake. The genius twisted in his chair lightly as he typed out a question for the man whom had caught his interest.

SH221:Why did you quit the army?

It was a simple enough question and for a moment Sherlock thought the man wouldn't answer, but the Doctor replied, "Well, I got shot in the shoulder and had PTSD so bad I started limping with the leg that had fallen when I had first been hit. They thought I would be unable to be of any use so they let me go home. I am unable to go back because of my shoulder, my limp though is gone though now." There was uneasy silence that Sherlock interpreted as 'not happy with the decision at all', but the man spoke again despite sounding so dismal seconds earlier.

"If I may ask you, can I ask what the 221 stands for? I know that the SH is probably your initials or something, but the number seems specific." The man asked, curiosity seeping through the seemingly harmless question.

SH221: It is part of my address.

The question was easily responded to, but Sherlock sensed that their conversation would end abruptly if he did not ask another question from the other man. With a sense of frustration, the genius simply wrote the first thing on his mind he could ask.

SH221: What does the J in JW stand for?

The ebony haired male groaned at his own stupidity and slammed his elbow down on the table forcefully, cursing his own reckless stupidity. There was an astronomical chance that the other man would not answer such a personal question at this stage! Sherlock desperately wished to take back the comment, but he silenced his thoughts as the Doctor spoke into the live chat.

"It's my name. John...John Hamish Watson," There, those three words held the whole world seemingly in them as the man said them with a greeting voice. The name was normal, absolutely dull in every sense, but they screamed in Sherlock's ears. They rang with joy, but dulled as he sat closer to the screen, his pale fingers flying across the keyboard.

SH221: I see. What an utterly normal name.

It was not meant to be a mean comment as many people took it, but the there was a beautiful sound of laughter from the Doctor. "I suppose it is. Can't say anything against that. It is what is. I wish I had a different name sometimes, but I suppose it suites me now." The voice sounded older and more tired, yet something betrayed the tone. There was an underlying sound of adventure and thrill vibrant through each word. It was such a lie that Sherlock could keep his mouth shut no longer as he spoke into the live speak for the first time, his own voice foreign in the slightest as its deep baritone echoed into his own ears.

"You are lying John."

Then, the tall male shut the laptop with one hand while holding his chin thoughtfully with the other as he gazed at the electronic device in mute silence. His mind storing and rewinding his encounter with John Watson, replaying into his head for anymore useful or interesting information on the man John Watson. His mind palace slowly constructing a new room for this man he had yet to encountered but planned to soon. Just to appease his boredom at least.

 **Well, I hope you liked the new chapter~! I am really tired so games are like the farthest thing from my mind right now! XD I hope it was good! I would love ideas for these two or just funny plot twists that would make my OOC Sherlock better! Please let me know alright!**

 **~Aryes**


	3. 3 Fire!

**Aryes: Hey guys, look at that! Got the next chapter up! Been really busy and now finally got Hell Zone Chapter #3 out! Woot~! This is it guys! THEY MEET! I hope it's a good meeting and I hope my Sherlock deductions are on point! I thank you guys for reviewing! I love the reviews! They make me work harder!**

 **Warning: Yaoi (Male x Male), also deductions of murder and suicide and scary army flashbacks/nightmares so please refrain from reading if any of these disturbs you! I am not at fault because I have warned you~!**

 **Disclaimer: Do not own BBC Sherlock or any of the quotes I have used from it!**

 **Hope you enjoy~**

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Chapter 3: The Voice of Reasonable Fate

 _'You're lying John Hamish Watson.'_

The man's voice was completely strange to John, as though SH221 was a new species entirely. The voice had been almost dark and grating, moreover the deep intelligence that rang through was beyond normal. The accent on the man was thicker than John's own, but the thing that troubled John the most was when he layed down to sleep at night, he heard the man's voice in his ear. John Watson's own brain betrayed his interest in the other man as his mind desperately tried to picture what the man could even look like. The blonde doctor wasn't a really nosy person he would say, but for some reason, this man made him want to delve deeper. It spiked up curiosity he had hidden long ago from the world after all, being a soldier when he was younger had taken all the curiosity he had and hid it away. Curiosity could get you killed in the army and John had learned that real quick if he wanted to live.

John heard a little voice in the back of his mind direct his thoughts towards sleep as his eyes seemed to open slower and slower with every time he blinked. Ah yes, he needed to work all week next week didn't he? Such a bummer that would be, he wouldn't have time to play Hell Zone at all and if everything John heard was true about the hospital's renovations, he probably wouldn't get to play for a while. The blonde man felt himself stretch his limbs while he sat in front of his laptop that he had just used to compose an email to the new apartment complex that was going to takeover from where the old realtor's had been working from. The prospect was scary considering their old management had been lenient on many things and if these new people saw the old debt's that John had racked up from the days he had been having PTSD and drinking till the cows came home, things could get ugly for John Watson real quick. The doctor pushed himself off his chair and crossed over to his bed as he shut down his computer with a single click, the message sent and hopefully received well by the new company. The email was mainly to explain why there was such a low credit on his credit score.

John felt his whole body completely sigh in relief when he got under the covers of the bed and just enjoyed the comfort of his own small but particularly inexpensive home. His whole body seizing up in his lazy state and every part of him relaxed, John smiling as he tried to dream of something other than his own personal nightmarish dreams. Why couldn't he have normal nightmares like people dream about? Why couldn't he just have a spider on his arm or fall off an extremely high thing? No, he had to have a replayed nightmare of his friend dying and trying to drag him down with him. The fact that the nightmare was so usual was in itself something to fear. Had John really become immune to the pain of watching someone die? Of course he felt sadness, or maybe anger because he could've done more to help, but now when he saw a dead body he no longer felt that devestatingly empty feeling.

You see, John Watson thought of that pain you felt when someone died, that empty feeling, was similar to someone digging in the dirt. Every time someone around you died, there was a person in your gut that shoveled out some terrible emptiness out into the open. Well, where the dirt had been there was a giant hole in John Watson's heart, he had lost so much in so little time that the digger kept digging and digging until there was nothing but a hollowness left. There had just been a point in John Watson's life when the word death couldn't make him cringe or feel pain for anything. In his army years he had seen death, he had seen true pain and agony, in his army years nothing could compare to the lack of compassion he held for things. Humans were so fragile and even though he tried so hard, he couldn't protect anyone at all. What use had he been towards everything! He had lost more lives than he had saved, he had been on the battle field and been the only one to return back. That was the past now but even to this day he...

John blinked in self questioning as he realized something, 'Even to this day, I still remember everything that happened.'

There was only the silence of his mind as his physical body felt a sudden rush of panic, the memory never leaving as he watched his friend falling in the line of fire and then...John cringed suddenly and gasped as a ghost of pain shot around his scar as though he had a muscle cramp, but it was worse. It pained him something terrible, it was so excruciating that John's harsh grip on his shoulder tightened as tight as he could on his shoulder blade but there was only the pain of the scar. Nothing could match the imaginary pain as it mounted, but as quickly as it came it subsided.

'You are lying, John Hamish Watson', the deep voice of memory make him scowl slightly, he liked to think he didn't lie that much, but he had been being truthful then. SH221, an overly intelligent individual who never spoke to anyone, well at least as far as John knew, spoke to call him a liar. The doctor had to wonder what type of person would say something like that to someone without any remorse. SH221 seemed to write down accurate statements so easily, even when they were negative statements as though he wanted people to prove him right.

To be honest, John wasn't completely sure, but that's what he gathered based on their team games. The other man wanted to find the flag first, wanted to boast about it, the need to be praised was written all over the man's actions, but in truth, John was impressed by the other man. He briefly once again thought about what the man was like in real life and then once again with a sigh pushed the strange set of thoughts aside. What did it matter, the chances of him meeting that man by coincidence was astronomically low, so laughably so that it was more probable that he would die of tea poisoning!

* * *

Oh how the sound of his phone ringing made him excited. Why do you ask? Simple, it was a relief from the boring norms of life, and if there was one Sherlock abhorred more than anything, it was the norm. It was so unexciting and limiting to his natural thoughts, in fact it was the reason the world was so exhausting to him, it required all his energy just to function with any degree of empathy towards the world. Sure there were things that excised his high function processes, games and puzzles, but nothing quite beat the boredom away like dealing with someone broke the norms of society. It was like a game of cat and mouse, it was much more interesting though when they fought on even grounds though, but he took what he could get.

The morning light shone through his window, it was a bitter weekday which meant that people would be more likely at their work places which would clear the streets a bit for the crime scene. In an instant Sherlock picked up the phone with undulled enthusiasm and turned off the call and texted Lestrade.

"Is there a case?"

In an instant came the reply, because the man already knew Sherlock hated calls more than anything.

"Yes"

The simple reply made the man stand and adjust his tie, he pocketed his phone and walked down the creaky wooden staircase, not even bothering to shut his flat door. "Sherlock, are you leaving?" asked Ms. Hudson and Sherlock didn't even look back as he responded to her question, "Yes." He shut the door behind him without another word and got into the taxi that had pulled up to his address, in the taxi's back seat was Lestrade, the older man pocketing his phone as Sherlock sat himself in the seat next to him. "You could have answered the call Holmes," Lestrade grunted as the taxi jolted to action and Sherlock closed his eyes, "Homicide?" The question hung in the air for a second before Lestrade sighed, "We think so."

"But you do not know? Surely your brains can figure out that much?" Sherlock commented dryly and the other man grimaced at his words and huffed, "Sorry we can't be certain for this one. There was no note, the room he fell from was locked though, and I haven't gotten a look at the guy yet but I assume that the man probably died on impact." There was silence and then there was the stop the taxi by a corner, "We're here." Both of the men exited the vehicle and the older man led the way to the scene of the crime, the scene was apparent in every way, yellow tape everywhere, police cars and the sound of sirens. The place where they were was across the street from a small hospital, people huddling around the crime scene.

"A hospital," the detective murmured and continued onward, Lestrade lifting the yellow tape for Sherlock.

"Why is he here?" a very well-known voice announced, and the raven haired man inwardly grimaced at the voice's origin.

"Ah, Anderson, and where there is one moron there is-" Sherlock started and was cut off by, "Lestrade this is a suicide, not a murder! Why is this little psychopath here?"

Sherlock made a face and then continued, "-another." Lestrade made a face at Donavan who stood next to Anderson and both were standing next to the body.

"You both know that it is my choice to call him here, because this case looks suspicious to begin with!" Lestrade said affirmatively and both shut their mouths, but gave valiantly evil glares Sherlock's way. The pale man could care less what the two idiots thought of him as his eyes were too busy evaluating the body. Small things flashed to his attention, small scratch marks on the sides of the wrists that peaked from the man's cuffs, and the small spill of coffee on his shirt edge. To further this case, he needed a proper medical evaluation for the man, but then Anderson came up behind him.

"You need my help with forensics, so move Holmes. You aren't allowed to touch the body!" said Anderson and Sherlock wanted to hit the man or just make him disappear!

"No, I can't think if you contaminate the body with your idiocy! Is there anyone here who can give this body a proper look without disrupting my thoughts? There is a hospital over there! Is there a doctor who can give me a quick autopsy here other than this idiot!" Sherlock's voice did a whole octave count as he grabbed his head in anger and then he heard a voice from the crowd.

"I can!" The voice was familiar to one he had heard before and Sherlock swung around to see a man who seemed to be around similar age. Instantly, Sherlock took in many things about the man behind the yellow tape in an instant. He was a doctor, that much was obvious, but there was a rugged look about the man along with a strange tan that he seemed to have which spoke that he had been out of the country.

Sherlock would guess war considering how fast the man had responded to the comment, the man was used to using his reflexes very often, old habits die hard.

"What's your name?" Sherlock asked, his curiosity peaked by how familiar the voice was, but for the life of him he couldn't place it.

"My name is John, John Watson. I am a doctor to this hospital, I can check him for you," in an instant Sherlock felt his breath fly away, this man was indeed the one he had met online a few weeks ago. He wondered if the man remembered him too, and so he decided to test the man slightly.

"Alright, then come over here and do so, John Hamish Watson," the other man reacted to the comment, it was an easy change in demeanor.

The first change was shock, then settled in confusion, and eventually defensive but Sherlock saw that there was a bit of understanding or rather an inkling of curiosity in the man. John was someone that piqued his interest indeed, and he wondered if the man would guess his identity as well. The man seemed to be on guard but he pulled up the tape easily and ducked underneath it. John was wearing a white lab coat and green scrubs underneath, clear sign of his professionalism, the man seemed comfortable in them.

"Fine," John huffed with a dubious glare as he passed Sherlock and in an instant, the raven felt a strange pull to the man.

The sound of his voice and seeing the person himself, they matched perfectly, the man was on the ground evaluating the body and Sherlock couldn't but noticed that he was needlessly staring at John. The man commented that the male had died by the fall as soon as it hit by the way the skull was cracked and then he got up and looked at Sherlock again. The raven felt his stomach do a twist when John asked, "How?"

The question caught Sherlock off guard, "How what?"

John repeated clearly what he meant, "How did the man jump or fall of the building?"

Sherlock smirked at the curious man he had been able to meet and said in a tone for all to hear, "He was murdered." There it was again, a small spark in those brown eyes, it was something he knew very well because his own blue eyes probably mirrored it, yes, it was excitement.

"Sherlock, how could this be murder?" asked Lestrade and Sherlock gave a small smile, oh how he loved figuring it out. It was a shame that it was too easy, but none the less still interesting use of his time.

"No suicidal person in his right or should wrong state of mind would want to jump when they are near a hospital! They would go to someplace else! Someplace far away from it! They don't want to be saved if they fail. His wrists are scratched, signs of either nervous habit of first time drug user. If you get an autopsy and detect poison then we know that he might have been tied up to get those scratches instead then he was hung by his wrists on the roof edge. The man's room was on the top floor, only people who went out there would know that so probably friend, what type of friend? A best friend, perhaps even a co-worker. It had to be someone who was strong enough to lift them, someone strong enough to yank a rope so tightly it chafes wrists and someone who can hang him on a roof. Someone with knot training of some kind. That should narrow down your search considerably."

There was a pause and Sherlock chanced a glance to John, fearing that he would be shocked or moreover, disgusted by his perfect observations, but the man's eyes were solely on him. They seemed to be energized and almost delighted as they looked at him in wonder.

"Amazing," the blonde doctor breathed out and the raven felt his own breath feather slightly at the look of awe he received. Lestrade was shocked as usual and began to bark orders to people in his group to narrow their search engines in the systems and to get the body down to forensics. Sherlock turned and lifted up the tape, there was a rustling sound of feet behind him and he was happy to see the doctor looking at him still.

"That was magnificent. How on earth did you do that?" John asked and Sherlock simply stated, "What is it like for everyone? Their brains so slow, don't take that personally, yours is a bit faster than everyone elses."

John seemed to take the comment to thought and responded, "It can be boring but the dullness can be inviting you know."

There was another small hint of the lie in the man's voice and he spoke the same words he did back then, "You are lying John Hamish Watson." Amusing enough, Sherlock watched it all click in the man's head, his facial expressions very obvious about the connection he had just made.

"You're SH221, aren't you?" John whispered slightly and then he seemed to take a double take, "The signs," the man muttered and he sighed and put his face into his hands.

"There were so many signs, how did I miss them," the blonde asked himself but Sherlock answered, "Because you were too busy calculating the astronomical chance that this was indeed happening."

The blonde looked back at him with a more relaxed yet observational nature, "So you're SH221?"

The pale man sighed in impatience, "I thought we had accepted this fact." The doctor seemed to have a hard time just understanding that but John threw in a new question hesitantly, "So 221 stands for something else and SH is your initials?"

Sherlock nodded with his hands touching finger to finger in a contemplative gesture, "Yes, it stands for my address, and my name is Sherlock Holmes."

John's eyes widened and Sherlock wondered briefly if he had said something to upset the man or provoke him, but the blonde doctor instead said, "Well, you're different then what I pictured you be."

The raven felt slightly amused as he then asked, "What did you conjure then when you envisioned me?"

The doctor made a face and instantly replied, "That sounds dirtier than it should be."

"John, you're the one who pictured me first," the raven watched as the blonde's eyes glared, but Sherlock spotted an inkling of pink colouring tinting his ears in embarrassment.

"Do you have to be so obnoxious?" asked the blonde and the raven raised an eyebrow as the entered the hospital building, "Yes," Sherlock answered promptly.

"I have every right to be considering I just solved the case so easily," the detective finished, slightly boasting in front of the man for reasons he didn't understand.

"Do you always do that?" John asked as both men paused in front of the desk in the front, "Do what?" Sherlock asked back, genuinely confused on what the man was asking.

"That," John pointed to his collar which was flipped upwards, "Do you always flip them upwards when you are trying to impress someone? Looking all mysterious with the upturned collar and your cheekbones?"

Sherlock had no words against that comment considering he agreed with it, then a thought came into his head as he peered down at John's attire, "Do you need a place to stay?"

The words seemed to surprise John and it took him a moment to speak, "What makes you so sure about that?" Sherlock's eyes instantly locked onto his outfit or rather, John's shoes.

"What," John voiced at the way Sherlock looked accusingly at them.

"They are clean, even if you rode a cab home you would have to walk on the ground but these shoes are practically squeaking clean, spotless actually. Why? Because you live here, in the hospital, it's a smaller hospital so they'd allow an employee to stay, especially if they got out of the army recently."

John's eyes widened but then the brown eyes lowered to his shoes as he spoke, "You can get all that from shoes..." There obvious awe in his voice and the taller man spoke again, "I have an opening for a room mate, but as I have said before, not many people like me because of my deductions. You, on the other hand, need a place to live and it's free. Meet me at 221 B. Baker Street after your shift, I will be waiting." That was all that the raven said as he walked out of the hospital, the doctor almost seemingly immobilized by their meeting.

It had been a sudden invite, there had been no warning and no proper introductions, all Sherlock needed to do was hear the man to know he was a potential flat mate, though John was probably in shock. 'Oh he'll come though,' Sherlock thought confidently, why you ask? Because he had seen it in those brown eyes, the small inkling of curiosity that assured what Sherlock already knew about the doctor. The man was addicted to the danger, perhaps it was the excitement at the prospect of danger or maybe it was thrill of being in a life or death situation, but Sherlock knew for sure that the man would meet him at 221 B. Baker Street.

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 **Hope you guys enjoyed it! They have met! Sweet days this was a hard chapter to write, because you have to do it justice! They are such a great pairing...Also guys I have one question and I want your opinion...**

 **Should there be Mystrade? (or maybe a extra story of them meeting in a similar way as Sherlock and John did on Hell Zone?)**

 **Tell me what you think! Your reviews and thoughts give me the motivation to keep writing! :D Thank you for reading~!**

 **~Aryes**


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